Leader of the House of Lords

Clerk of the Parliaments

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park: I informed the House on 30 September 2020 of Ed Ollard’s intention to retire from the office of Clerk of the Parliaments with effect from 1 April 2021. A recruitment process for his successor as Clerk of the Parliaments has now concluded.Four applicants from a wide and high calibre field were interviewed by a board consisting of myself, the Lord Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, the Convenor of the Crossbench Peers and Dame Sue Owen, a former DCMS Permanent Secretary and Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Champion.The unanimous recommendation of the board is that Simon Burton should succeed Ed Ollard as Clerk of the Parliaments. We will have an opportunity to pay tribute to Ed’s career in the House nearer to the date of his retirement.With Simon’s appointment, the post of Clerk Assistant will now fall vacant, so an open and fair recruitment process will now commence.